If It Rains Too Hard, We'll Tax Your Roofs

"Consider all the ways we're taxed," wrote Maryland's community Gazette in April — when we're born, die, earn income, spend it, own property, sell it, attend entertainment venues, operate vehicles, and pass wealth along after death, among others. Maryland has now added a tax on rain. To reduce stormwater runoff into Chesapeake Bay, the Environmental Protection Agency assessed the state $14.8 billion, which the Old Line State will start collecting in July by taxing "impervious surfaces" — any land area in its 10 largest counties that cannot directly absorb rainwater, such as roofs, driveways, patios and sidewalks.